Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion and Its Interactions with Climate Change: 2006 Assessment
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Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses
Climate change and human health RISKS AND RESPONSES Editors A.J. McMichael The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia D.H. Campbell-Lendrum London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom C.F. Corvalán World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland K.L. Ebi World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome, Italy A.K. Githeko Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya J.D. Scheraga US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA A. Woodward University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION GENEVA 2003 WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Climate change and human health : risks and responses / editors : A. J. McMichael . [et al.] 1.Climate 2.Greenhouse effect 3.Natural disasters 4.Disease transmission 5.Ultraviolet rays—adverse effects 6.Risk assessment I.McMichael, Anthony J. ISBN 92 4 156248 X (NLM classification: WA 30) ©World Health Organization 2003 All rights reserved. Publications of the World Health Organization can be obtained from Marketing and Dis- semination, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel: +41 22 791 2476; fax: +41 22 791 4857; email: [email protected]). Requests for permission to reproduce or translate WHO publications—whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution—should be addressed to Publications, at the above address (fax: +41 22 791 4806; email: [email protected]). The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. -
Monitoring the Montreal Protocol – Duncan Brack
12 Monitoring the Montreal Protocol Duncan Brack ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is generally regarded as one of the most, if not the most, successful environmental conventions in existence. Not only is it dealing effectively with the problem that it was set up to solve—to phase-out a family of industrially useful, but environmentally damaging, chemicals—but it has provided the international community with a series of valuable lessons in the design and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (s).1 The development of the protocol’s data reporting and non- compliance systems (the main focus of this chapter) has been an important factor in its success. Ozone depletion Ozone is a molecule comprising three oxygen atoms. It is comparatively rare in the earth’s atmosphere; 90 percent is found in the stratospheric ‘ozone layer’, ten to 50 kilometres above the planet’s surface. The Montreal Protocol was a response to growing evidence of the accumulating damage to the ozone layer caused by the release into the atmosphere of chemical substances known as halocarbons, compounds containing chlorine (or bromine), fluorine, carbon and hydrogen. The most common ozone-depleting substances () were chlorofluorocarbons (s). Stable and non-toxic, cheap to produce, easy to store and highly versatile, s proved to be immensely valuable industrial chemicals, employed as coolants in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, as ‘foam-blowing agents’, and as solvents, sterilants and aerosol propellants. As scientific knowledge developed, other chemicals—halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, hydrochloro- fluorocarbons (s), methyl bromide and bromochloromethane—also came ○○○○ 210 Ver ification Yearbook 2003 to be identified as ozone depleters. -
Residential Air Conditioning and the Phaseout of HCFC-22 What You Need to Know
Residential Air Conditioning and the Phaseout of HCFC-22 What You Need to Know What Is the HCFC Phaseout? To protect the stratospheric ozone layer, under the U.S. Clean Air Act and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the United States has phased out the production and import of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) with limited exceptions. By phasing out ozone-depleting substances like HCFCs, we are reducing the risk of skin cancer caused by exposure to UV radiation. In addition, many of these ozone-depleting substances Planning for the Future Is Important are potent greenhouse gases. Even though there is no immediate need for change, you can take steps to keep your system No Immediate Change Is Required running efficiently and keep HCFC-22 in your HCFC-22, commonly referred to as R-22, is used as system. By asking your service technician to a refrigerant in many applications, including check for leaks and perform preventive residential air-conditioning (AC) systems. U.S. maintenance, you can help keep your refrigerant production and import of HCFC-22 ended on January emissions down and reduce the need to 1, 2020, but you may continue to use HCFC-22 in purchase additional HCFC-22. Air conditioning your existing system for as long as necessary. equipment generally runs most efficiently on the HCFC-22 that is recovered and reclaimed, along with type of refrigerant it was designed for, but when HCFC-22 produced prior to 2020, will help meet the the time does come to replace or retrofit your needs of owners of existing HCFC-22 systems. -
Fundamentals of Global Warming Science (PCC 587): Midterm Review
Fundamentals of Global Warming Science (PCC 587): Midterm Review DARGAN M. W. FRIERSON UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES DAY 13: 11/6/12 The Instrumental Temperature Record Global temperature since 1880 Stevenson screens to measure temps on land, ocean temps from buckets or intake. Groups attempt to remove inhomogeneity in the datasets Other signs of (global) warming - melting mountain glaciers - decrease in winter snow cover - increasing atmospheric water vapor - warming of global oceans - warming of upper atmosphere - rising sea level (due to warming and ice-melt) - timing of seasonal events e.g. earlier thaws, later frosts - thinning and disappearing Arctic sea ice Every one of these data sets can be questioned to some extent. " Taken together, the totality of evidence of global warming is quite convincing." Solar vs Terrestrial Radiation Solar (blue) vs terrestrial (red) radiation: Very little overlap: solar (“shortwave”) and Earth (“longwave”) Solar Radiation and Earth When the Sun’s radiation reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, several things can happen: ¡ Scattering/reflection of solar radiation ¡ Absorption ¡ Transmission Most solar radiation makes it straight to the surface ¡ 50% of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation is absorbed at the surface ¡ 20% is absorbed in atmosphere (17% in troposphere, 3% in stratosphere) ¡ 30% is reflected back to space (25% by atmosphere, 5% by surface) What does the reflection? Clouds reflect the most solar radiation by far ¡ 2/3 reflection by clouds ¡ 1/6 reflection by -
Mackenzie Climate Change Testimony
WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF FRED T. MACKENZIE, PH.D. DEPARTMENT OF OCEANOGRAPHY SCHOOL OF OCEAN AND EARTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND RESPONSES IN ISLAND COMMUNITIES BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION MARCH 19, 2008 Introduction Good morning Senator Inouye, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for giving me the opportunity this morning to speak to you on global climate issues and how they might impact island communities. My name is Fred Mackenzie and I am an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i. My research is quite broad in scope but focuses on the behavior of the Earth’s surface system of oceans, atmosphere, land, and sediments through geologic time and its future under the influence of humans, including the problems associated with greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, global warming, and ocean acidification. I have been an academician for more than 45 years and published more than 250 scholarly publications, including six books and nine edited volumes in ocean, Earth and environmental science. Today you have asked me to comment on how climate change might affect island communities and on our recent work developing climate and sustainability case studies for Pacific island resources that can be used to educate and inform the community, including local decision makers. Many of my comments are derived from the report of the Pacific Islands Regional Assessment Group, for which I served as a member, entitled Preparing for a Changing Climate. The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (Shea et al., 2001), and the case study Climate Change, Water Resources, and Sustainability in the Pacific Basin: Emphasis on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i and Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands (Guidry and Mackenzie, 2006). -
Radiation Dimming and Decreasing Water Clarity Fuel Underwater
Science Bulletin 65 (2020) 1675–1684 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scib Article Radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity fuel underwater darkening in lakes ⇑ ⇑ Yunlin Zhang a,b, , Boqiang Qin a,b, , Kun Shi a,b, Yibo Zhang a,b, Jianming Deng a,b, Martin Wild c, Lin Li d, Yongqiang Zhou a,b, Xiaolong Yao a,b, Miao Liu a,b, Guangwei Zhu a,b, Lu Zhang a,b, Binhe Gu e, Justin D. Brookes f a Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research, State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China c Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Zurich CH-8001, Switzerland d Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis IN 46202, USA e Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611, USA f Water Research Centre, Environment Institute, School of Biological Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia article info abstract Article history: Long-term decreases in the incident total radiation and water clarity might substantially affect the under- Received 30 January 2020 water light environment in aquatic ecosystems. However, the underlying mechanism and relative contri- Received in revised form 3 April 2020 butions of radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity to the underwater light environment on a Accepted 5 April 2020 national or global scale remains largely unknown. Here, we present a comprehensive dataset of unprece- Available online 16 June 2020 dented scale in China’s lakes to address the combined effects of radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity on underwater darkening. -
(Vocs) in Asian and North American Pollution Plumes During INTEX-B: Identification of Specific Chinese Air Mass Tracers
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 5371–5388, 2009 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/5371/2009/ Atmospheric © Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed under Chemistry the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. and Physics Characterization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Asian and north American pollution plumes during INTEX-B: identification of specific Chinese air mass tracers B. Barletta1, S. Meinardi1, I. J. Simpson1, E. L. Atlas2, A. J. Beyersdorf3, A. K. Baker4, N. J. Blake1, M. Yang1, J. R. Midyett1, B. J. Novak1, R. J. McKeachie1, H. E. Fuelberg5, G. W. Sachse3, M. A. Avery3, T. Campos6, A. J. Weinheimer6, F. S. Rowland1, and D. R. Blake1 1University of California, Irvine, 531 Rowland Hall, Irvine 92697 CA, USA 2University of Miami, RSMAS/MAC, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, 33149 FL, USA 3NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, 23681 VA, USA 4Max Plank Institute, Atmospheric Chemistry Dept., Johannes-Joachim-Becherweg 27, 55128 Mainz, Germany 5Florida State University, Department of Meteorology, Tallahassee Florida 32306-4520, USA 6NCAR, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, 80305 CO, USA Received: 9 March 2009 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 24 March 2009 Revised: 16 June 2009 – Accepted: 17 June 2009 – Published: 30 July 2009 Abstract. We present results from the Intercontinental 1 Introduction Chemical Transport Experiment – Phase B (INTEX-B) air- craft mission conducted in spring 2006. By analyzing the The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment – mixing ratios of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mea- Phase B (INTEX-B) aircraft experiment was conducted in sured during the second part of the field campaign, to- the spring of 2006. Its broad objective was to understand gether with kinematic back trajectories, we were able to the behavior of trace gases and aerosols on transcontinental identify five plumes originating from China, four plumes and intercontinental scales, and their impact on air quality from other Asian regions, and three plumes from the United and climate (an overview of the INTEX-B campaign can be States. -
Global Dimming
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 107 (2001) 255–278 Review Global dimming: a review of the evidence for a widespread and significant reduction in global radiation with discussion of its probable causes and possible agricultural consequences Gerald Stanhill∗, Shabtai Cohen Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel Received 8 August 2000; received in revised form 26 November 2000; accepted 1 December 2000 Abstract A number of studies show that significant reductions in solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface have occurred during the past 50 years. This review analyzes the most accurate measurements, those made with thermopile pyranometers, and concludes that the reduction has globally averaged 0.51 0.05 W m−2 per year, equivalent to a reduction of 2.7% per decade, and now totals 20 W m−2, seven times the errors of measurement. Possible causes of the reductions are considered. Based on current knowledge, the most probable is that increases in man made aerosols and other air pollutants have changed the optical properties of the atmosphere, in particular those of clouds. The effects of the observed solar radiation reductions on plant processes and agricultural productivity are reviewed. While model studies indicate that reductions in productivity and transpiration will be proportional to those in radiation this conclusion is not supported by some of the experimental evidence. This suggests a lesser sensitivity, especially in high-radiation, arid climates, due to the shade tolerance of many crops and anticipated reductions in water stress. Finally the steps needed to strengthen the evidence for global dimming, elucidate its causes and determine its agricultural consequences are outlined. -
Increase in Domestic Electricity Consumption from Particulate Air Pollution
ARTICLES https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00699-0 Increase in domestic electricity consumption from particulate air pollution Pan He 1,2,6 ✉ , Jing Liang3,6, Yueming (Lucy) Qiu 3,6 ✉ , Qingran Li4 and Bo Xing5 Accurate assessment of environmental externalities of particulate air pollution is crucial to the design and evaluation of envi- ronmental policies. Current evaluations mainly focus on direct damages resulting from exposure, missing indirect co-damages that occur through interactions among the externalities, human behaviours and technologies. Our study provides an empirical assessment of such co-damages using customer-level daily and hourly electricity data of a large sample of residential and commercial consumers in Arizona, United States. We use an instrumental variable panel regression approach and find that par- ticulate matter air pollution increases electricity consumption in residential buildings as well as in retail and recreation service industries. Air pollution also reduces the actual electricity generated by distributed-solar panels. Lower-income and minority ethnic groups are disproportionally impacted by air pollution and pay higher electricity bills associated with pollution avoid- ance, stressing the importance of incorporating the consideration of environmental justice in energy policy-making. ir pollution has resulted in many types of negative externali- in commercial buildings for longer period of time. These two effects ties, a situation that calls for policy intervention to address can cancel out, and thus we hypothesize that air pollution does not Athe associated damages. Policymakers and research are have a statistically significant impact on commercial buildings as widely concerned with increases in mortality risk, which are direct a whole. -
Global Environmental Issues and Its Remedies
International Journal of Sustainable Energy and Environment Vol. 1, No. 8, September 2013, PP: 120 - 126, ISSN: 2327- 0330 (Online) Available online at www.ijsee.com Research article Global Environmental Issues and its Remedies Dr. MD. Zulfequar Ahmad Khan* Address Present. Permanent Address for Correspondence *Dr. Md Zulfequar Ahmad Khan 21-B, Lane No 3, Associate Professor Jamia Nagar, Zakir Nagar, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies New Delhi-110025 Arba Minch University INDIA Arba Minch, Ethiopia. Mobile No.: +919718502867 Mobile No: +251 923934234 E-mail: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract To the surprise of many out-spoken environmentalists, it, in fact, turns out mankind and technology actually aren’t the only significant causes of global environmental problems. However, before we start to get too comfortable and confidently assume that we as human beings are officially “off the hook,” the fact remains that several “man-made” causes play a significant role in our current, global problems trend. Many human actions affect what people value. One way in which the actions that cause global change are different from most of these is that the effects take decades to centuries to be realized. This fact causes many concerned people to consider taking action now to protect the values of those who might be affected by global environmental change in years to come. But because of uncertainty about how global environmental systems work, and because the people affected will probably live in circumstances very much different from those of today and may have different values, it is hard to know how present-day actions will affect them. -
Chapter 1 Ozone and Climate
1 Ozone and Climate: A Review of Interconnections Coordinating Lead Authors John Pyle (UK), Theodore Shepherd (Canada) Lead Authors Gregory Bodeker (New Zealand), Pablo Canziani (Argentina), Martin Dameris (Germany), Piers Forster (UK), Aleksandr Gruzdev (Russia), Rolf Müller (Germany), Nzioka John Muthama (Kenya), Giovanni Pitari (Italy), William Randel (USA) Contributing Authors Vitali Fioletov (Canada), Jens-Uwe Grooß (Germany), Stephen Montzka (USA), Paul Newman (USA), Larry Thomason (USA), Guus Velders (The Netherlands) Review Editors Mack McFarland (USA) IPCC Boek (dik).indb 83 15-08-2005 10:52:13 84 IPCC/TEAP Special Report: Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 85 1.4 Past and future stratospheric ozone changes (attribution and prediction) 110 1.1 Introduction 87 1.4.1 Current understanding of past ozone 1.1.1 Purpose and scope of this chapter 87 changes 110 1.1.2 Ozone in the atmosphere and its role in 1.4.2 The Montreal Protocol, future ozone climate 87 changes and their links to climate 117 1.1.3 Chapter outline 93 1.5 Climate change from ODSs, their substitutes 1.2 Observed changes in the stratosphere 93 and ozone depletion 120 1.2.1 Observed changes in stratospheric ozone 93 1.5.1 Radiative forcing and climate sensitivity 120 1.2.2 Observed changes in ODSs 96 1.5.2 Direct radiative forcing of ODSs and their 1.2.3 Observed changes in stratospheric aerosols, substitutes 121 water vapour, methane and nitrous oxide 96 1.5.3 Indirect radiative forcing of ODSs 123 1.2.4 Observed temperature -
Global Climate Change Control: Is There a Better Strategy Than Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CONTROL: IS THERE A BETTER STRATEGY THAN REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS? † ALAN CARLIN This Article identifies four major global climate change problems, analyzes whether the most prominent of the greenhouse gas (GHG) control proposals is likely to be either effective or efficient in solving each of the problems, and then extensively analyzes both management and technological alternatives to the proposals. Efforts to reduce emissions of GHGs, such as carbon dioxide, in a decentralized way or even in a few countries (such as the United States or under the Kyoto Protocol) without equivalent actions by all the other countries of the world, particularly the most rapidly growing ones, cannot realistically achieve the temperature change limits most emission control advocates believe are neces- sary to avoid dangerous climatic changes, and would be unlikely to do so even with the cooperation of these other countries. This Article concludes that the most effective and efficient solution would be to use a concept long proven by nature to reduce the radiation reaching the earth by adding particles optimized for this purpose to the stratosphere to scatter a small portion of the incoming sunlight back into space, as well as to undertake a new effort to better under- stand and reduce ocean acidification. Current temperature change goals could be quickly achieved by stratospheric scattering at a very modest cost without the need for costly adaptation, human lifestyle changes, or the general public’s ac- tive cooperation, all required by rigorous emission controls. Although strato- spheric scattering would not reduce ocean acidification, for which several reme- dies are explored in this Article, it appears to be the most effective and efficient first step toward global climate change control.